Face the Future: carbon trading

15 January 2010 | News story

Face the Future, an IUCN Netherlands Committee member, develops forest carbon projects around the world with the aim of mitigating climate change and conserving forests. They also promote the business case for biodiversity conservation through the sale of carbon credits.

With projects in Malaysia, Uganda and Ecuador, Face the Future bridges the gap between ‘greenhouse gas emitting’ organizations in developed countries and carbon sequestration projects in developing countries. With the interest for voluntarily offsetting carbon emissions through forestation and avoiding deforestation projects growing considerably in recent years, a true voluntary carbon market exists with proper checks and balances, which ensure the reliability of the carbon offsets sold.

Face the Future is committed to develop a significant number of forest projects with the use of carbon funding. When successfully implemented, the projects are certified by independent carbon- and biodiversity standards. The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) is the world’s largest carbon standard and is applicable to re/afforestation, improved forest management and REDD projects. When VCS certified, projects generate carbon credits that can be sold as carbon offset to companies and individuals. The Climate, Community and Biodiversity standard (CCB) then ensures the contribution of projects to biodiversity and local livelihoods.

Face the Future receives specific interest for their projects from the private sector. ING – a global operating bank financial institution –aims to reduce its carbon emissions as much as possible. However, those emissions that cannot be prevented are offset with Face the Future’s rainforest rehabilitation project in Malaysia. This project, located on the Island of Borneo, ensures that illegally logged rainforest is rehabilitated. Besides, allowing for the sequestration of carbon, the project acts as a buffer for the Danum Valley Conservation area and provides a habitat for several animal species including orangutans and elephants.

Projects that contribute to biodiversity have an appealing effect and enable companies that invest in them to communicate about more than just carbon. That is why Face the Future focuses primarily on those projects that not only benefit climate change, but also benefit local communities and biodiversity. And when biodiversity is being truly valued the business society might become even more interested to sustainably participate in the conservation of forest.